


starting over

by e_is_better_than_a (orphan_account)



Series: tumblr asks [8]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, M/M, Making Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21619981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/e_is_better_than_a
Summary: anon ask: Hardzello angsty angst ?
Relationships: Ben Hardy/Joe Mazzello
Series: tumblr asks [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558126
Kudos: 11





	starting over

**Wh** en Joe saw Ben, he wanted to scream. The blond hadn’t spotted him yet, but he had to eventually. He was there with his friends and a pretty girl that Joe had never seen before. ****

The two boys used to be in the same friend group in freshman year of high school. In fact, they used to be best friends. The two hung out alone almost every weekend and told each other their darkest secrets. By sophomore year, people would come up asking if they were dating. They would just shake their heads and say that they were like brothers. 

But Joe was lying. He had been crushing on him since they first met. By December of that year, Ben had become one of the most popular people in school. The other students had started whispering in the halls about him, saying that he was the hottest kid in school and Joe couldn’t help but agree. All this attention forced the ginger out of the picture, being replaced by athletes and other much better-looking people.

For the rest of the year, Joe slowly came to terms with the fact that he wasn’t close to Ben Hardy anymore. And he was so angry because he still had a crush on him. His hair was soft and he could recite _White Queen_ word for word. Joe missed being his friend and every time he saw him, the ginger’s heart broke just a little bit more.

So he was a tad bit angry when he saw him when Joe was just supposed to be relaxing and celebrating the end of Junior year. Gwilym had invited their whole friend group and a few others which exploded to their entire grade. Joe had offered to stay and clean up tomorrow, saying that he had nothing better to do and wasn’t in the mood to drink himself to death. But seeing that head of blond hair made him want to reconsider.

While he was busy wondering if knocking back a few was worth the hangover tomorrow or not, he hadn’t noticed the pair of eyes that fell on him. A light tap on his shoulder startled him out of his brooding. He was met with the sight of Gwil, Rami, and Lucy, all giving him a knowing look.

He rolled his eye’s and muttered a soft, “shut up”. They were the only people who knew about his crush and had almost convinced him to confess before he was pushed away.

Gwil’s eyes drifted over Joe’s shoulder, widening a little before sputtering. “Joe he’s- he’s coming over here right now. I swear- we should leave,” He said, all but pushing the other two away and leaving behind an exasperated Joe.

He turned around immediately only to find Ben right before him. He looked a little shy and unsure, completely opposite of how he was in front of his friends. The ginger couldn’t help but think about how different things could be if they had stayed friends.

“Can I talk to you? In private?” Ben asked. Joe was agreeing before he could actually think about what might happen if he goes with him. A smile lit up the blond’s face and Joe couldn’t find it in him to care.

The pair walked up the stairs, making their way to Gwil’s room. Joe opened the door, locking it once the other boy was inside. Joe sat down in the desk chair and Ben sat on the edge of the bed. There was a moment of silence as the two just looked at each other, seeing what had changed in a year and a half.

“I’m sorry,” Ben blurted, cheeks becoming rosy. “I- I talked to the others last week but I wasn’t sure what to say to you.” He said slowly, picking his words carefully, something Joe always admired him for. Often the ginger would say the first thing in his mind and it had gotten him in more trouble than he would want to admit.

“I wanted to apologize for drifting from you. You know everything about me and I just left you. That was really shitty of me and I’m sorry.” The words were coming out of Ben’s mouth but it didn’t sound like the Ben he knew. The one that would ramble on and on during an apology like a little puppy.

Joe took a deep breath, trying to hold in a chuckle at his words. “Yes, it was really shitty of you,” He started, not seeing the point in holding back anymore. “But I moved past that ages ago. What hurts is that I still wanna be around you. I still want to see you on the weekends and watch those trash movies you used to like. I still want to call you at 2 am the day before my finals and just listen to you talk about nothing. It hurts that I still miss you, even after a year and a half with almost no talking.” Once he started, it all tumbled past his lips. He kept steady eye contact, staying relaxed in the chair as he told the truth.

Ben just stared at him. Joe could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “Ben, you might have stopped being my friend, but I never stopped being yours.” It was more of a whisper, but he could tell the other heard because he saw his breath hitch.

They sat in the quiet, listening to the party going on below them. Ben didn’t seem to know what to say and Joe didn’t have anything left to say. So they just sat together.

“Do you remember when we were talking on Halloween? Before everyone got to my house to watch horror movies and we were just talking and I said I had something to tell you?” Joe nodded, the memory coming clear into his mind. Ben had been stuttering a lot but before he spat it out, the rest of their friends arrived.

“I was going to ask you out.” The wind was knocked out of the ginger’s lungs. _He was what?_

“Are you kidding me?”

Ben had a small grin on his face. “Nope. I was going to ask you to go ice skating the next weekend but I didn’t have enough courage to do it. I was sure you were gonna hate me and our friendship would be ruined,” He paused for a second, grin slipping off his face. “But I ruined it a little bit after that because I was an asshole so…”

Joe couldn’t believe his ears. “If you had asked, I would have said yes.”

Ben stared at him again before saying, “If I asked right now, what would you say?”

“Yes.”

A goofy grin spread across the blond’s lips again. “Thought about this a lot, Mazz?” He teased, using the old nickname.

“You’re the one asking me out almost 2 years late. I think we might have missed that skating session so you need a new idea, Benny,” He quipped. This was what he missed; bickering with him over dumb things that were perfectly obvious.

“How about tomorrow night at my place. We can watch whatever movies you want. Sound like a plan?” There was a hint of insecurity in his voice and the urge to hug him was almost overwhelming.

“It’s a date.”


End file.
